Some photos snapped from behind the scenes at the setup for this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas hint Microsoft will be showing something called "Avatar Kinect".

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What is it? Provided, that is, these shots show anything other than a new marketing slogan? Your guess is as good as ours, since it won't be fully detailed until later this week when Microsoft holds its press conference on Wednesday night. We'll have men on the ground at the show, by the way, so will be bringing you the news on whatever it is "Avatar Kinect" turns out to be.

For what it's worth, given the name I'd wager it's some kind of social networking system using both your 360 avatar and the Kinect camera. Watch football games or movies with like-minded folks in the same Xbox Live Party while using/seeing your avatars, that kind of thing.

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We've contacted Microsoft for comment, and will update if we hear back.

UPDATE - WinRumors says almost exactly that, the site claiming that Avatar Kinect is a software update "delivered over Xbox LIVE, [that] will allow Kinect owners to interact with each other using their avatars. The avatars will have a separate area, much like Nintendo's Mii channel, that will allow for users to control them using Kinect and interact to watch content or play games."